Trump is losing the messaging war as moderates doubt his Mueller 'exoneration': Ex-Clinton press secretary

Former White House press secretary Joe Lockhart contended today on CNN that when the public reacted poorly to President Donald Trump's claim the Mueller report exonerated him, it showed that he was losing the messaging war with the vast majority of American voters -- "the people in the middle."

"Who do you think is winning the messaging war here with the American public?" asked host Erica Hill. "Is it Donald Trump and his camp, and Republicans -more the president than Republicans, I would say- or is it the Democrats?"

"Most of the public still believes the president is not an honest person," said legal analyst Gloria Borger. "I think the way it's impacted people is they have turned the page. Maybe they don't believe him, but they've turned the page."

Lockhart disagreed, saying it was more nuanced.

"I think it depends on the messaging war to what audience," Lockhart said, noting the obvious fact that the polarizing president has a hold on his base and that Democrats and progressives continue to despise him.

"I think he's lost it with the people in the middle," he went on. "Let's remember, the day the Barr letter came out --let's not call it the Mueller report-- came out, he claimed total exoneration."

"The next poll that came out, three or four days later, said only 29% of Americans --his base-- believed that he was totally exonerated," Lockhart continued. "On his best day, he still had less than a third of the public who believed him. I think what you need to get re-elected, the middle, and either the left or the right, he's lost the messaging war."

Watch the video below.